Adjustable fluid timer



2 she e t's -shee t 1 A. T. ZAPPIA ADJUSTABLE FLUID TIMER m Q 3 .W w H 1 m Ms C m Ii 00 5/ I, 1 WW H F I 0 w 4 m v N I a w h A M W m O 0 mm 2 q w 1 w w A h 7 III \w L Z .a Z Y. m 3 \0 w $1 m 4s m n .4 .w 11 w 0 W Ax 9 5 8 /m m H Sept. 6, 1966 Filed Dec.

Sept. 6, 1966 A. T. ZAPPIA ADJUSTABLE FLUID TIMER heet 2 2 Sheet 8 n 4 m]- "H Filed Dec. 30, 1965 INVENTOR. ANTHONY IZAPP/A Bf. {a ['22 Alforne S United States Patent F 3,271,002 ADJUSTABLE FLUID TIlVIER Anthony T. Zappia, 6230 E. 56th St., Indianapolis, Ind. Filed Dec. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 517,719 6 Claims. (Cl. 251-259) The present invention relates to a fluid pressure timer mechanism and is primarily concerned with the improvement of a mechanism generally of the character disclosed in my prior Patent No. 3,098,505, issued July 23, 1963. A primary object of the invention is to provide a timer mechanism for accomplishing in a general way the objectives of the device of my said prior patent, but in which no flow passages or ports are embodied in continuously-rotating elements.

Further objects. of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

FIG. 1 is a horizontal section, partly in plan, through one complete flow-control assembly which may preferably constitute an element of a bank, taken substantially on the line 11 of FIG. 7 and drawn to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the assembly illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a similar section taken substantially on the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective of one-half of the pilot valve assembly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary section showing the details of a reciprocating valve assembly forming an element of my invention; and

FIG. 7 is a reduced, side elevation of a bank comprising a plurality of the assemblies illustrated in FIG. 1.

The timer mechanism of the present disclosure has been designed primarily for use in the control of an automatic machine such as, for instance, that disclosed in my prior Patent No. 3,169,846, issued February 16, 1965, and comprising a plurality of fluid actuated motors connected to actuate machine elements to carry out a predetermined program. Usually, such motors are doubleacting pneumatic motors, and the present control has been illustrated, and will be described, for use primarily with such motors; but it will be obvious that, without the exercise of invention, slight modifications will permit the use of the disclosed structure for the control of single-acting, biased pneumatic motors or single or double acting hydraulic motors.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that I have illustrated a manifold 10 with which is associated a supply conduit 11 leading from any suitable source of fluid under pressure. The manifold 10 is formed with a main bore 12 extending throughout its length between its rear surface 13 and its forward surface 14.

A series or bank of identical pilot valve housings, indicated in FIG. 7 by reference numerals 15, 15A, 15B and 15C is suitably secured, as by machine screws 16, to the forward face 14 of the manifold 10, the several housings being arranged in close contiguity; and an equal number of control valve housings, indicated by the reference numerals 17, 17A, 17B and 17C, is associated with the bank of pilot valve housings, one control valve 3,271,002 Patented Sept. 6, 1966 housing being secured to the forward face of each pilot valve housing by means of machine screws passing through perforated ears 18 and 19 of each control valve housing and entering threaded bores in the associated pilot valve housing.

At the level of each pilot valve housing, the manifold 10 is formed with a supply passage 20 opening directly from the main bore 12 through the front face 14 of the manifold; with a pilot passage 21 and a pilot passage 22 communications with the main bore 12 and opening through the manifold face 14 on opposite sides of the supply passage 20; and, at a level below the level of the passages 20, 21 and 22 but still within the region of the same pilot valve housing, with delivery passages 23 and 24 opening through the manifold face 14 at points re spectively between the supply passage 20 and the pilot passages 21 and 22, and opening also through the rear face 13 of the manifold.

Each pilot valve housing is formed with a substantially central supply passage 26 and with delivery passages 27 and 28 arranged on opposite sides of the supply passage 26, all three of said passages opening through the rear face 29 and the front face 30 of the pilot valve housing. Said passages are so arranged that, when the pilot valve housing is secured in place on the manifold, the supply pass-age 26 registers with the supply passage 20 of the manifold and the delivery passages 27 and 28 register, respectively, with the delivery passages 23 and 24 of the manifold 10.

.Each control valve housing 17 is formed with a supply port 31 registering, when said housing .17 is secured to its associated housing 15, with the supply passage 26; and each control valve housing is likewise formed with delivery ports 32 and 33 registering, respectively, with the delivery passages 27 and 28. The housing 17 is further formed with spaced exhaust ports 34 and 35. Reciprocably mounted in the housing 17 is a stem 36 projecting oppositely from the housing and suitably packed, though the packing is not illustrated. The stem 36 carries spaced heads 37 and 38, and the chamber within the housing 17 is reduced in diameter near its opposite ends to provide facing shoulders 39 and 40. As is clearly illustrated in FIG. 1, the parts are so proportioned and designed that, when the head 37 abuts the shoulder 39, the ports 31 and 32 are in open communication, the exhaust port 34 is closed by the head 37, and the port 33 is in open communication with the exhaust port 35; whereas, when the head 38 abuts the shoulder 46, the ports 31 and 33 are in open communication, the exhaust port 35 is closed by the head 38 and the port 32 is in open communication with the exhaust port 34.

As will be apparent from a comparison of FIGS. 1 and 7, the various passages thus far described are substantially horizontally disposed. Near one end, the housing 15 is formed with a relatively large, straightt-hro-ugh bore 41 disposed on a substantially vertical axis; and near its opposite end said housing is formed with a similar bore 42. Referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the bore 41 is counterbored at its opposite ends to define an upwardly facing shoulder 43 and a downwardly facing shoulder 44. Snugly journalled in the bore 41 is a plug 45 provided at its upper end with a worm wheel 46 which may be integral with said plug, as shown, or may be suitably secured thereto, said worm wheel being nested in the counterbore and substantially bearing on the shoulder 43. In the illustrated form of the invention, a worm sleeve 47 is mounted on an adjusting shaft 48 by means of a set screw 49 and is located between a pair of spaced ears 50 formed on the housing 15, said ears being formed with aligned bores in which the shaft 48 is journalled. A knurled knob 51 is secured to one 3 end of the shaft 48 by means of a set screw 52, and the worm 47 meshes with the worm wheel 46 whereby manipulation of the knob 51 will cause the plug 45 to turn about its axis within the bore 41.

The body of the plug 45 is formed with an upper, continuous, peripheral groove 53 and with a lower, con tinuous, peripheral groove 54. The housing is formed with a pilot inlet passage 55 opening through the housing face 29 to register with the manifold pilot passage 21, and opening into the bore 41 at the level of the groove 53. A pilot delivery passage 56 communicates with the groove 54 and opens through the housing face to register with a port 57 at one end of the, housing 17. Thus, the groove 53 is always in communication with the main manifold bore 12 while the groove 54 is always in communication with the righthand end of the chamber within the housing 17.

The plug is formed with an axial bore 58 in which is journalled a rotor 59 the upper of which extends upwardly beyond the top of the housing 15 and is formed with a kerf 60 and the lower end of which extends downwardly beyond the bottom of the housing 15 and is formed with a key 61.

The plug 45 is further formed with an eccentric bore 62 disposed on an axis parallel with the axis of the bore 58 and closed at its upper end by a threaded plug 63. Received within said bore 62 is a valve assembly indidicated generally by the reference numeral 64 and arranged to control fluid flow between a port 65 communicating with the groove 53 and a port 66 communicating with the groove 54. At the lower end of the plug, the bore 58 is formed to provide a concentric enlargement 67 which is closed by a cap 68 secured to the plug by screws 69.

As is most clearly shown in FIG. 6, the bore 62 is reduced in diameter immediately above the enlargement 67 to define a shelf 70 upon which rests the shell 71 of the valve assembly 64. Said shell is formed to define a lower ring 72 snugly fitting the bore 62, and an upper ring 73 likewise snugly fitting said bore, said rings being joined by a reduced, perforate, tubular wall 74. The ring 73 is disposed between the ports 65 and 66 and is formed on its upper surface to define a valve seat 75 with which is cooperable a valve head 76 carried by a stem 77 which is guided in the ring 72 and is provided with an extension 78 projecting into the enlargement 67. Preferably, the lower end of the extension carries a rotationally mounted ball 79. Immediately above the ring 72, the bore 62 is formed with an internal groove 80 receiving an expanding snap ring 81 to retain the valve assembly 64 against upward movement.

Within the enlargement 67, the rotor 59 carries a cam arm 82; and the extension 78 is so located that the ball 79 is disposed in the path of the cam arm 82 so that, upon each revolution of the rotor 59, the cam arm 82 will engage the ball 79 to lift the valve head 76 ofl? the valve seat 75. The valve body is, of course, biased toward closing engagement with the seat 75 by gravity so that, as the arm 82 passes the extension 78, the valve head 76 will again close upon the seat 75. When in closed position, the valve is further biased against opening by the supply pressure to which it is subjected from the main bore 12 through the passages 21 and 55, the groove 53 and the port 65. If desired, or in special circumstances, a coiled spring (not shown) may be confined between the plug 63 and the valve head 76 to assist the closing bias of said valve.

Snap washers 83 and 84 may be mounted in suitable grooves in the rotor 59 to engage the cap 68 and the upper end of the plug 45 to retain the rotor 59 against axial movement relative to the plug 45.

An identical plug 85 is mounted similarly in the bore 42 for rotational adjustment by a similar worm 86. The plug 85 is formed with an upper groove 87 and a lower groove 88 and with an eccentric bore 89 containing a valve assembly identical with the assembly 64. A rotor 90 is journalled in an axial bore in the plug 85 and said plug carries a cap 91 identical with the cap 68. A pilot inlet passage 92 provides communication between the manifold passage 22 and the groove 87 and a pilot delivery passage 93 provides communication between the groove 88 and a port 94 at the lefthand end of the housing 17. Conduits 95 and 96 lead, respectively, from the delivery passages 23 and 24 to opposite ends of fluid motors (not shown). Rotor 90 is provided with a cam arm like the arm 82 whereby the valve assembly mounted in bore 89 is actuated in the manner above described.

Operation When the several pilot valve and control valve assemblies are mounted in a bank upon the manifold 10, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the kerf 60 of each rotor will receive the key 61 of the corresponding rotor of the next superposed assembly to provide a driving connection among the several rotors of each series, and either the lowermost rotor or the uppermost rotor of each series will be continuously driven by suitable means (not shown). Whenever the cam arm 82 of a given rotor engages the extension 78 of its associated valve assembly 64, the head 76 of that valve will be momentarily lifted from its seat 75 to establish fluid flow from the bore 12 to the corresponding end of the control valve housing 17. Thus, when fluid is admitted through the port 57, the stem 36 will be shifted from its FIG. 1 position to move the head 38 into abutment with the shoulder 40 to establish fluid flow from the bore 12 through passage 20, passage 26, port 31, port 33, passage 28, passage 24 and conduit 96 to one end of the fluid motor dominated by the assembly 15-17. At the same time, the opposite end of that fluid motor will be exhausted through the conduit 95, passage 23, passage 27, port 32 and exhaust port 34. As the stem 36 reaches its lefthand position, the righthand end of the housing 17 will likewise be exhausted through the port 34, it being remembered that the valve head 76 has been only momentarily lifted from its seat 75 and will close again immediately after the stem 36 has been shifted.

Similarly, when the valve assembly of the plug 85 is actuated by the cam arm of the rotor 90, a shot of pressure fluid will be delivered to the lefthand end of the housing 17 through the passage 22, passage 92, groove 87, groove 88, passage 93 and port 94 to return the stem 36 to its illustrated position, thus supplying fluid under pressure to the opposite end of the dominated motor through the passage 20, passage 26, port 31, port 32, passage 27, passage 23 and conduit 95, simultaneously exhausting the first-mentioned end of said motor through the conduit 96, passage 24, passage 28, port 33 and exhaust port 35.

The instant of actuation of the valve assembly 64 of the plug 45, relative to the instant of actuation of the valve assembly of the plug85, and relative to the several valves of the plugs of the other control assemblies of the bank, is absolutely independently adjustable by manipulation of the knob 51, since the plug 45 will thus be turned relative to the cam arm 82, without affecting any other plug in the entire bank. 'It will be apparent that, in this manner, the time of operation of each motor in the entire machine in each direction may be absolutely independently selected.

I claim as my invention:

i1. In a device of the class described, a housing formed to provide a straight-through, cylindrical bore and further formed to provide a first passage and a second passage opening into said bore at spaced levels along the axis of said bore and opening to the exterior of said housing, a cylindrical plug mounted in said bore for turning movement relative to said housing about the axis of said bore and spanning said passages, said plug having a first peripheral groove disposed at the level of said first passage and a second peripheral groove disposed at the level of said second passage when said plug is so mounted, said plug being formed with an axial bore communicating near one end of said plug with a concentric enlargement in said plug and said plug further being formed with an internal chamber spanning the levels of said grooves and with a first port opening from said first groove to said chamber and a second, separate port opening from said second groove to said chamber, valve means disposed in said chamber and comprising seat means disposed between said first port and said second port and a valve body biased toward flow-preventing engagement with said seat and having a portion extending into said enlargement at a point eccentric relative to said plug axis, a rotor journalled in said plug bore, cam means carried by said rotor within said enlargement and engageable with said valve body once in every revolution of said rotor to shift said valve body 01f its seat against its bias, and means for retaining said plug in any one of a plurality of selected position of rotational adjustment relative to said housing.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said retaining means comprises gear means fixed relative to said plug and toothed means mounted for rotation about an .axis fixed relative to said housing and meshing with said gear means.

3. The device of claim 1 in which said retaining means comprises a worm wheel concentric with and fixed relative to said plug, and a worm journalled in bearings on said housing for rotation about a fixed axis disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said plug, said worm meshing with said worm wheel.

4. The device of claim 1 in which said chamber is defined by a second bore parallel with said axial plug bore and extending from said enlargement past the levels of both of said ports, said seat means comprising a tubular shell received in said second bore, snugly fitting .said second bore in the region between said ports, and extending axially past one of said ports, said shell providing a valve seat disposed between said ports, said valve body comprising a head formed for cooperation with said valve seat and a stem guided in said shell and extending therefrom .into the path of said cam means within said enlargernent.

=5. The device of claim 4 where-in said bores are arranged on substantially vertical axes, said first port is located above said second port and said enlargement is located below said second port, said shell is located wholly below said first port, and said valve head is located above said shell while said stem extends below said shell.

6. The device of claim 5 in which the upper end of said second bore is closed by a removable plug, and means connecting said first passage with a source of fluid under pressure.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,206,361 7/1940 MacKay 137624.15 X 2,837,118 6/1958 Allen l37624.17 X 3,152,615 10/1964 Olson 251259 X WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner.

A. COHAN, Examiner. 

1. IN A DEVICE OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED, A HOUSING FORMED TO PROVIDE A STRAIGHT-THROUGH, CYLINDRICAL BORE AND FURTHER FORMED TO PROVIDE A FIRST PASSAGE AND A SECOND PASSAGE OPENING INTO SAID BORE AT SPACED LEVELS ALONG THE AXIS OF SAID BORE AND OPENING TO THE EXTERIOR OF SAID HOUSING, A CLYINDRICAL PLUG MOUNTED IN SAID BORE FOR TURNING MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID HOUSING ABOUT THE AXIS OF SAID BORE AND SPANNING SAID PASSAGES, SAID PLUG HAVING A FIRST PERIPHERAL GROOVE DISPOSED AT THE LEVEL OF SAID FIRST PASSAGE AND A SECOND PERIPHERAL GROOVE DISPOSED AT THE LEVEL OF SAID SECOND PASSAGE WHEN SAID PLUG IS SO MOUNTED, SAID PLUG BEING FORMED WITH AN AXIAL BORE COMMUNICATING NEAR ONE END OF SAID PLUG WITH A CONCENTRICENLARGEMENT IN SAID PLUG AND SAID PLUG FURTHER BEING FORMED WITH AN INTERNAL CHAMBER SPANNING THE LEVELS OF SAID GROOVES AND WITH A FIRST PORT OPENING FROM SAID FIRST GROOVE TO SAID CHAMBER AND A SECOND, SEPARATE PORT 